HISTORY OF MAURITIUS. 
1 ;< 3 & 
they might enjoy a greater degree of liberty. At the same time that they wish to 
get rid of their plantations, those of the Isle of Mauritius increase, from the num¬ 
ber of the inhabitants, and the advantages of secure and spacious ports. 
" Being in the possession of all the necessaries of life from their own plantations, 
which are, in general, very agreeably situated, they live at a very small expence in 
peace and tranquillity. 
“ Some of the planters in the Isle of Bourbon have from eight hundred to a 
thousand slaves on their plantations; and in that of M. de Forges, who has greatly 
improved and extended his possessions, there are at least fifteen hundred. He 
enjoys the post of Engineer of the Company, and is admirably qualified for his situa¬ 
tion. He is the most opulent individual of the island, and has lately built a very 
noble house of the finest stone, which has the appearance of a palace rather than 
that of the habitation of a planter. It contains fourscore beds beneath its spacious 
roof, and is surrounded with beautiful gardens, as well as a park embellished with 
herds of deer, and large pieces of water full of fish: he has also made, at a very 
great expence, a road from his house to the town, and is the only inhabitant of the 
island who keeps a coach. 
“ It has been already observed, that there is no port in this island, it being 
entirely surrounded with a steep shore, where the waves dash with great violence, 
especially on the windward side. The only place where a port might be formed, in 
which vessels might ride in safety, is at the mouth of a little river, at the place called 
St. Mary. Here it was that M. de la Bourdonnais thought it possible to make a 
port sufficiently large to contain three or four vessels: but to carry that design into 
execution, he demanded a million of livres of the Company; which has lost several 
of its vessels from the want of such an accommodation. 
“ When I was at the Isle of Bourbon, the Company lost a ship of eight hundred 
tons burthen, called La Paix, near the bay of St. Denis, in a violent hurricane. It 
lay there to receive a cargo of coffee for Europe. 
“ The inhabitants of this island are subject to the same danger and devastation 
as those of Mauritius, from the runaway slaves who inhabit the woods. They were, 
at a former period, estimated at the number of a thousand; but in consequence of 
considerable rewards offered to those who should kill or take them, they are now 
supposed to be reduced to two hundred. For each of them taken alive or dead, 
the Company gives a well-conditioned slave, who is generally valued at an hundred 
